Grid (Disney+)
What is it:
It's a mystery-thriller that aims to set you at the edge of your seat, contemplating each character's motivations and their next moves.

The drama opens in 2005 and solar winds threaten to plunge the world back into the dark ages. Fortunately, Earth is protected by the Grid, a protective 'net' encasing the entire globe in an artificial magnetic field, defending mankind from an imminent demise.


Fast forward to the present day. Our male protagonist Kim Sae-ha (Cheese in the Trap's Seo Kang-joon in his first drama after completing mandatory military service) accidentally stumbles onto a murder scene and displays his special ability to lipread.

The next day, while at work in a secretive techy office where everyone is searching the web for people who disappear, he comes across a police report by Jung Sae-byeok (Kim Ah-joong). According to the detective, a mysterious woman, nicknamed Ghost (Lee Si-young), has helped a murderer escape and then disappears into thin air herself.

Here's the surprise: Ghost is the exact same saviour that gave the gift of Grid to mankind back in 1997 — so why is she aiding a murderer now?

What we like:
Kang-joon's portrayal of Sae-ha, although somewhat stone-faced, seems to hint at an underlying depth of emotions and personal tragedies.

Veteran actor Kim Sung-kyun also really sells his character well. As the short-tempered and murderous Kim Ma-nok, Sung-kyun's body language definitely gives off a vibe of an aimless, irrational man who would murder over a slight insult.

This all results in the plot gaining extra depth in mystery and intrigue — how exactly the Grid is tied to Ghost, Sae-ha and Ma-nok is still unclear.

Despite leaving so many mysteries, Grid does well to prevent confusion. Instead, it provides many open-ended possibilities for speculation, leading the viewer in the direction of the next episode.

What we didn't like:
The introduction sequence of establishing the Grid and the threat of solar winds was unnecessarily lengthy, and the bland acting from a smug man in Arab garb leaning into his cushy chair certainly didn't help.